The Empire Must Fall For Your Sake
by Saint Sita
Summary: A Lone Soldier against the empire he once served after a humble slave shows him the horrors that the Empire has inflicted. Now, he only has one goal in mind to make the Empire Fall. Read Author's Note Please!
1. Explantation

Author's Note:

I'm the original author of this story but under a new account since I no longer feel like I can post on the old one.

I just had so much bad things happen in my life that it just brought to many bad memories that I would prefferably not be reminded of everyday

So before please do not report these stories as stolen please.


	2. Chapter 1

Orihime Inoue was a gentle, beautiful and intelligent young woman. She was also, however, a broken girl, who despite having lived an overly harsh life, always smiled and hoped for the better. The entire Inoue family was slain and in result, she was reduced to nothing but a plaything for a despicable man that went by the name of Mara. Kami was looking out for her it would seem, or maybe it was just sheer luck, because the auburn-haired girl was in fact not a sex slave – albeit being a slave nonetheless. It felt as though it was luck though, especially with her angelic looks and attractive body.

The man Mara however, wasn't interested in making Orihime a sex toy. There were more things that needed looking over and he had time to indulge in fun with, particularly when he already had enough girls at his command. To be honest, he enjoyed watching her tortured more so than having his way with her... Mara happened to be the Dictator of the Japanese Empire, which had taken over all of East Asia, ranging from Mongolia to Thailand. Mara treated her like a lesser being and scum of the earth; she was often humiliated for nothing other than Mara receiving some form of sick pleasure from her suffering.

'Things will get better, I just know they will,' she often thought. 'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.'

And, as luck would have it, maybe things were going to get better for the lone Inoue…

oOo

Ichigo Kurosaki, a handsome, young man from Japanese descent, was a soldier – a fighter from birth. Ichigo had a Japanese father and a Chinese mother. The orange-haired man was often picked on for that fact that he was not purely Japanese rather than being hassled for his orange hair...

And though he wasn't as less fortunate as Orihime, still having a family and friends, the number of friends he had was very few. Ichigo's only friends were Uryū Ishida, who was also born of a Japanese father and a Chinese mother; Tatsuki Arisawa, a girl who Ichigo spared with; and, "Chad". Although Chad's real name was Christian Jesus Rivera and he was a son of a U.S. Navy Seal who was assigned to protect a U.S. Ambassador based in Japan.

Fortunately for Ichigo, he was of the Kurosaki family and his father was a high ranked government official. This enabled Ichigo to join the Japanese Army at fifteen and rise through the ranks. Despite this and how well it not only reflected on his personal status and family's name, Ichigo was still unhappy with his life for he felt nothing he did would ever make him feel any worth. And if that had not been enough, his beloved mother passed away shortly after his nineteenth birthday – this alone caused him to become much more distant and cynical than he had been before. Two years soon flew by and the result was Ichigo turning into an emotionless, cold and calculating robot of the army. Ichigo no longer cared about what he did anymore and solely focused on his duties as a soldier, putting down the rebels of rebellions and killing without an ounce of regret.

For this, Mara congratulated him and held party in his honor an event in celebration of the man who gave for his homeland and the empire growing from its hearth. In honor of a man who was essentially the perfect soldier. A gracious gala for a man of nobility and status. A superb affair man of status and with a name…

Later that night, on the eve of the party, Mara could be seen with the guest of honor himself, Ichigo Kurosaki; the duo were conversing away, or rather, a somewhat drunk Mara rambling and Ichigo listening, occasionally making grunts of acknowledgement.

"So my boy, what do you think of the festivities held tonight in your name?" Mara asked Ichigo as they made their way to the front of the ball room where Mara would pay his homage to Ichigo.

"I personally don't care" Ichigo replied with an eye roll, loathing just how much Mara exaggerated.

Mara grinned and proceeded to make the toast to Ichigo.

Later, when the two were alone after the party and Mara claimed to have a gift for the young man, he presented a girl dressed in rags with large, stunning grey eyes and flowing auburn hair. She appeared to be a bit under fed, but other than that no external wounds or injuries could be seen. The young woman stared at Ichigo inquisitively, as if she as fascinated by him. The grey-eyed beauty looked him up and down before settling on his face and studying his features. When Orihime caught sight of Ichigo watching her giving him a full once over, she felt her cheeks burn up, but nonetheless gave Ichigo a sad smile; and, suddenly - for the first time in two years – Ichigo felt his lips turn up in a smile. Curious. She was curious, he had decided, and was embarrassed at being caught staring. It was… cute almost and he was thoroughly intrigued.

"Here's a gift, for your loyalty, Ichigo Kurosaki. This is my former slave, Orihime… Don't worry she's a virgin because it was much more fun to see her tortured than to have my way with her. However, in all the years I tortured her, I have not once seen her cry which is no fun for me," He said smugly.

That night he felt for the first time an anger he could not understand, but could describe at the same time. How could the man he gave his life for treat a girl that way? A girl from their country no better? She was not from conquered land? Is this what he did his duty for? To see this man torture people for sick pleasure?

"I'm sorry, but I really must be going. I have some paper work to do," Ichigo said, hurrying to find a reason to leave the man's presence.

Mara smirked. He would not get out of this…

"Then by all means Ichigo go… but just don't forget your gift…"

Mara left the room and Ichigo looked at Orihime. She looked unsure of what to do, but she looked more like she was afraid, uncertain.

Ichigo did not want this… For some reason, he couldn't explain it, but he didn't want this and slowly walked towards her.

"Don't worry. I will not treat you the way Mara did," he vowed.

With that they both left the party. Ichigo now knew what he had to do, for both her and the people Mara had sent him to kill...


	3. Chapter 2

hapter 2

The ride home was silent, as expected in Ichigo's mind anyways. She didn't look like the type to immediately open up, possibly –well most likely- because of the traumas she had gone through in life. There was no doubt in Ichigo's mind that she had suffered immensely and that if he, a total stranger, were to ask her something personal –and maybe even general or common- she wouldn't answer… He'd dealt with people -no victims- like her before during interrogations and learned that using brute force was not the way to address the situation. If anything, an opposite approach was to be tried.

And though Ichigo knew it would be work, he didn't think it would be too hard… and that assumption came forth because of the smile that had passed between them, along with the look in her eye. It wasn't the look of someone that was too far gone; it was the look of someone who was just waiting to be brought back…

oOo

When they arrived, she seemed even more afraid and possible even a bit more reclusive than she had before; that Ichigo could tell immediately. Even though he had promised to treat her better, Orihime still gave off the impression that since he worked for the Empire, he wasn't to be trusted. That since he worked for Mara, he was not to be trusted. She assumed that those who worked for the Empire were like Mara, essentially beasts to their very core, and repulsive monsters who abused their power.

However, unbeknownst to Ichigo, Orihime thoughts weren't aligned with what he believed to be true. The auburn-haired young woman had been proven wrong; this one man had proved her wrong. From what she had seen, he was kind despite gruff exterior his gruff exterior and his eyes had held a tinge of understanding along with sympathy when they met- only a few hours ago. (He seemed like he suffered a great loss, similarly like her. Maybe she thought just maybe they could help heal each other.) The man introduced to her as Ichigo Kurosaki didn't look at her like others under Mara, like she was trash and worth looking down upon. He looked at her like she was human. However, she had noticed that along with his seemingly small moment of a humane gesture, there was something else present in his eyes as he looked at her- right before he smiled at her.

She was lost in her thoughts, and being so deeply lost in her mind, she didn't hear him calling her until he gently shook her shoulder.

"I said that in the morning tomorrow, I'll call my good friend Tatsuki. She's going to help in getting you some clothes, alright? Meanwhile, I will give some of my clothes to wear tonight, because I'm not going to let you stay in those rags."

Orihime smiled forlornly, softly to herself, thinking, 'It's been so long since someone has actually cared about my well-being… I almost forgot what it feels like to be cared about…'

"Um, I guess I'll show you to your room now," Ichigo said and motioned for her to follow him, beginning to ascend the staircase in the center of the room.

Making sure she kept up with his stride, Ichigo gave a quick tour of her new home –making sure that she knew where the necessities were- before he took her to a room that had a bed with lavishly decorated Egyptian cotton sheets. The room itself also invoked an American Art Deco style, which Orihime often read about when she was alone. Inviting her to make herself comfortable, Ichigo left and hurriedly came back with a small pile of clothes for her to wear for the night. Orihime quietly took the stack and nodded her appreciation, murmuring a barely audible 'thank you'.

Leaving her to her own devices, Ichigo left the left room and Orihime by herself. Walking down the hall to his own bedroom, Ichigo stopped and turned to look back at her door. Was he really going to give up everything he had worked for, for a complete stranger? Was what he was fighting for worth... actually worth the hassle? He sighed and walked back to Orihime's room.

Knocking gently before opening the door, Ichigo found himself looking at Orihime… exactly the way he left her, with clothes in her hands, staring at the bed. More likely than not, the last time she had the luxury of actually sleeping in a bed would most likely have had to been a long time ago. Right when she was made a slave and right now, she was most likely coping with being able to sleep so luxuriously or the auburn-haired slave was trying to figure out if this was a trick.

Slowly walking up to her as not to disturb her, Ichigo reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Orihime jumped and spun around to face him, scared out of her wits and most likely expecting to be struck. Raising his hands to show that hitting her was not his intentions, Ichigo took a step back.

"I was just checking in on you," he explained himself. "I just wanted you to know that if you need anything, I'm right down the hall. The last room in the hall."

Orihime stared at him blackly for a moment before nodding her comprehension as Ichigo left again. Just before the door closed she called out to him, reaching out and latching onto his arm… She was in a new place and honestly, speaking she didn't want to spend the night alone…

"Pl- please don't go…"

The orange-haired soldier looked back at her with surprise in his eyes, shocked that she had even spoken to him. Orihime, shocked at her own actions, retracted her hand as if he had burned her and apologized profusely.

"I'm- I… gomenasai," she whispered.

"No, it's alright," he quickly interjected. "Do… do you want me to stay here for the night?"

Orihime blushed slightly but still nodded.

"Alright…"

She slept peacefully for first time since she was 8.

The sunlight broke through the windows, waking Orihime up. To her surprise Ichigo was still in the room, standing there at the edge of the bed, watching her as if he was worried that some would take her.

"Morning," Ichigo greeted. "You should get dressed we'll be leaving soon. Um, your name? What's your name?" he asked.

"Inoue Orihime" she said softly, sitting up and avoiding his eyes.

"Well, Inoue, I'll be taking you to a diner for breakfast; there's someone I want you to meet. She's an old acquaintance of mine and she'll be helping you in getting some clothes today."

Changing into a fresh shirt and shorts, Orihime followed him to the door and got into his car. It was an awkward silence until they got to their destination. There, Orihime noticed a tall girl, with long messy black hair, who gave Ichigo a warm greeting. Ichigo stiffened somewhat, and got straight to the point, trying to avoid pleasantries.

"Orihime, this is Tatsuki Arisawa. Tatsuki, this Orihime Inoue, former slave of Mara. He," Ichigo cleared his throat uncomfortably as he explained the situation. "He gave her to me as a gift. I would like for you to take her after breakfast for some clothes that fit properly, preferably not rags."

Tatsuki gasped, and stared at Ichigo as if he had grown three heads.

"Ichigo, how- how could you? Why on Earth would you accept his gift?!" she screeched, berating the man. Tatsuki shouted at him, "You're basically helping him make sure she'll never be free! I thought you were with us- against the use of slaves!"

"I am, Tatsuki," Ichigo ground out, gritting his teeth at the accusations she made.

"No! You're not; you're just following his orders, like usual. Ichigo, when will you wake up and -"

Ichigo cut her off. "I'm going to find a way to set her free, Tatsuki. I will help her and thereafter, the damn people under his rule."

Ichigo smirked as realization swept across Tatsuki's face. She was astounded.

Tatsuki smiled, "You know, I thought the caring part of you was gone for good… It's great to have the compassionate Ichigo starting to make his comeback.

"Just make sure, Ichigo… That you do whatever you have to do… to make the empire finally fall…"

oOo

Review please!

Special thanks to Ichihime Kurosaki who just got married last Saturday.

Also if you like the story leave review about what you liked and what you disliked. S we can improve the later chapters


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